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Patricia Kopatchinskaja: Maria Mater Meretrix

Patricia Kopatchinskaja plays her violin - it's held in front of the right hand side of her face

Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s virtuosity and imagination know no boundaries. Crossing time and genres, her thought-provoking programme explores the history of classical music and its depiction of women.

For the final concert of her Artist Spotlight series, the visionary violinist brings together an unusual selection of short pieces with one thing in common – they’re inspired by the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene. Sweeping across time from 12th-century von Bingen and 16th-century Victoria to the more recent Kurtag and Crumb, Kopatchinskaja examines how composers have viewed these key figures.

On one level it’s a perfect potted guide to the history of classical music. On another it reflects on a serious question: how have composers treated women across the centuries? To find the answers, she’s joined by Austrian-English soprano Anna Prohaska and Ensemble Resonanz, musicians who match her dynamism, communication and in-the-moment energy perfectly, for what promises to be an exciting and unpredictable musical adventure.  

The end time for this concert will be added here closer to the performance date

Produced by the Barbican

The Patricia Kopatchinskaja Artist Spotlight is generously supported by the Swiss Cultural Fund UK

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Swiss Cultural Fund UK logo in black and white

The Patricia Kopatchinskaja Artist Spotlight is generously supported by the Swiss Cultural Fund UK

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